With the influx of mobile devices – consumer, doctor, and hospital-owned – IT security is critical to the healthcare industry. A recent study showed that the industry was twice as likely to suffer a network security breach than any other industry. The cost of data breaches on providers as a whole is a staggering $7 billion. Preventing access to unauthorized users is the best defense against data breaches and other network security related issues.

Data privacy - Protecting the patients’ right to data privacy and securing unauthorized access to patient records, sensitive data, and resources is critical. Role Based Access Control (RBAC) should be established to facilitate different levels of access for staff, patients and guests. RBAC ensures that confidential records only are available to authorized personnel using an authorized device.

Protect and secure medical devices – To increase patient care and administrative efficiencies, providers are turning to network connected medical devices and mobile applications. Left unprotected, they represent a serious security threat to the network. Implementing a Network Access Control solution provides policy-based access to ensure availability to the appropriate user, as well as eliminate all unknown or unauthorized devices and rogue wireless access points.

Industry regulations – Compliance with government regulations have significantly impacted the industry. Increased penalties for violations and higher privacy standards are increasing the cost of healthcare. A cost effective network access strategy that includes compliance-reporting tools significantly decreases the number of violations and in-turn saves the provider money. In addition, access to wireless and guest networks can be managed to ensure a greater level of network security.

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) – IT personnel at most healthcare organizations are under pressure by staff, patients and visitors to allow them to use their personal devices on the network. In addition, contractors and part-time workers are granted access to the entire network, often times on personally-owned or non-sanctioned machines. Because of privacy issues and industry regulations faced by healthcare organizations, there really isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to BYOD. Each organization needs to tailor its BYOD policy to meet the goals that they are trying to achieve. While BYOD offers many benefits, the significant risks to the network cannot be overlooked.

Enhanced patient experience – Care and comfort are a priority for healthcare providers. Patients and their visitors expect Internet connectivity. The challenge for IT is how to create a stable, easily accessible network without putting additional pressure on already strained resources. A secure BYOD network access strategy provides for easy on-boarding of a disparate set of devices that is seamless to the user. Yet on the backend, is automatically scanning the device to ensure it complies with IT security policies.

Malware containment - Viruses, trojans, and other malware attacks can compromise network operation or availability that could impact patient care. To help mitigate this risk, endpoints should be inspected before they connect to the network to ensure that they are compliant with the organization’s security policy.

Application control - Applications that are allowed to run while connected to network should be controlled. The use of P2P applications may result in legal liabilities. In addition, applications like Skype and FaceTime can use up valuable bandwidth.

InfoExpress CGX provides solutions that help address these security challenges

InfoExpress CGX provides controls that can enforce who is allowed on the network, restrict what resources staff, visitors and medical devices may access based on the device they are using. InfoExpress CGX provides the next generation device access, mobile deployment, and endpoint monitoring by using patented network access control technology to enhance productivity while improving security.

InfoExpress CGX offers a solution that enables Healthcare organizations to:
• Lower risk by seeing what device’s are on the network, who’s using it, and where they are located.
• Provide staff and guests access to the network through self-registration or sponsored access.
• Allow personal devices to connect to your network, and limit access to critical resources.
• Enable and streamline BYOD to increase productivity without sacrificing control.
• Leverage existing or planned MDM solutions.
• Flag suspicious activity for review and block prohibited activities from one central console.

CGX accommodates both out-of-band and in-line access control by integrating with the existing network infrastructure. CGX provides support for both agentless for simplicity and agent-based for deep endpoint inspection. Organizations can use Active Directory, LDAP and RADIUS for authentication and to authorize access to resources through policies based on user, device, location, and compliance.

InfoExpress CGX provides a solid foundation toward a more secure network and a secure BYOD strategy. Most enterprises operate with limited budgets and resources but still need to deliver a quality solution to their users. Any security solution that is implemented needs to be easy to deploy and manage. CGX offers the lowest total cost of ownership for delivering secure BYOD and NAC in the industry.

Search form

Contractors, consultants, meeting participants and visitors can all benefit from guest networking. Free IT staff from managing the process by delegating sponsors or even let guests register themselves. InfoExpress allows you to customize your guest networking process so that it works ideally for your business.

CGX provides onboarding to provision secure wireless, mobile device compliance and selective access for employees who bring personal devices to the network. All of this and much more makes your work that much easier.